The Hindu Business Line : Steps under way to improve nuclear power generation

Hyderabad, June 7 With nuclear power generation down to 50 per cent of the total installed capacity of 4,000-plus MW, primarily due to the shortage of uranium supply, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) is working overtime to right the situation.

The uranium supply which has just begun from the Turamdih mills in Jaduguda has given the first push to increase power generation, said the Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), Dr Anil Kakodkar.

At present, the power plants run by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) are operating at 50 per cent capacity factor (equivalent of plant load factor in coal plants). With supply from Turamdih, the capacity factor (cf) will go up slightly, he said.

However, to reach the optimal 90 per cent cf, the power plants would need additional uranium resources and this would take some time, Dr Kakodkar said in response to queries from newspersons.

He said the demand-supply mismatch in uranium has hampered power generation. But steps have been taken to progressively improve uranium production and power generation. However, the mismatch is likely to continue for some time, the AEC Chief added.

Indo-US deal

While the process of developing new mines and producing uranium domestically from available raw material resources is rid with time constraints due to regulatory demands and the public-hearing process, the option for importing uranium depends on the outcome of the Indo-US civil nuclear cooperation, said Dr Kakodkar, who is also Secretary, DAE.

An additional constraint was the fact that the Nuclear Supply Group (NSG) of countries needs to relax guidelines for India to allow imports of uranium. The same issue confronts even the expansion programme at Kudangulam, where the Russians are building two units of 1,000 MW light-water reactors and aree keen to build some more, he said.

When asked about the Indo-US nuclear deal, Dr Kakodkar declined to comment on the outcome but stated, “Let’s hope for the best, I can’t predict”.

On the expansion programme of nuclear power, he said the Government had given in-principle nod for four new 700-MW units of the Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs). The NPCIL is working on the pre-project activity and construction would begin after the fuel linkage is established.

Earlier, Dr Kakodkar, who was the chief guest at the Nuclear Fuel Complex Day, presented ‘excellence of work’ awards to four groups with developed technologies.

The Chief Executive of NFC, Mr R.N. Jayaraj, handed over the first sample of the RRR Grade Niobium sample developed by the NFC to Dr V.C. Sahni, Director, RRCAT, Indore.